$28 million overrun on fuel hurts ferries

Soaring fuel costs have driven a $28 million hole in the budget for Washington state ferries.

The ferries budgeted $58.3 million for ferry fuel for the 2005-2007 biennium, but that is falling far short of what it is costing to run the ferries.

In June the ferries added an additional $15 million to the cost and this month added $13 million more, for a total increase of $28 million.

Mike Anderson, head of Washington State Ferries, said he will ask the Legislature for supplemental money. Without that, he said, the ferries would have to consider a fuel surcharge, a general fare increase, cutbacks in service, or take money from the ferry capital budget. That's what happened last year when the Legislature, unwilling to impose a fuel surcharge, moved about $15 million from capital funds to the operating budget.

"Everyone pays higher fuel prices," said Anderson, "and nobody put it into their budgets."

He said when the budget was prepared, the state predicted fuel costs of $1.50 a gallon; in the latest forecast this month it was $2.41 a gallon, about a 60 percent increase.

Anderson said there is enough money left to pay for fuel through the next legislative session because the state is in the first year of a two-year budget, but without extra money the ferry system could have to cut service or raise fares.

The ferry system burns 19 million gallons of diesel fuel each year.

Washington's is the largest ferry system in the United States, serving eight counties within Washington and British Columbia. It has 10 routes and 20 terminals that are served by 29 vessels which carry more than 26 million passengers each year.

The ferries aren't the only transportation system affected by high fuel costs. The state Department of Transportation also will ask for an additional $8 million to pay for added costs to operate maintenance vehicles, snowplows and other DOT vehicles.

Susan Gilmore: 206-464-2054 or sgilmore@seattletimes.com